''UFC 186: Johnson vs. Horiguchi'' was a

mixed martial arts Mixed martial arts (MMA), sometimes referred to as cage fighting, no holds barred (NHB), and ultimate fighting, and originally referred to as Vale Tudo is a full-contact combat sport based on striking, grappling and ground fighting, inc ...

event held on April 25, 2015, at the

Bell Centre Bell Centre (), formerly known as Molson Centre (), is a multi-purpose arena located in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. Opened on March 16, 1996, it is the home arena of the Montreal Canadiens of the National Hockey League (NHL), replacing the Montr ...

Montreal Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the List of the largest municipalities in Canada by population, second-most populous city in Canada and List of towns in Quebec, most populous city in the Provinces and territories of Canada, Canadian ...

Quebec Quebec ( ; )According to the Canadian government, ''Québec'' (with the acute accent) is the official name in Canadian French and ''Quebec'' (without the accent) is the province's official name in Canadian English is one of the thirtee ...

, Canada.

Background

The event was the seventh event that the UFC has hosted in

. The event was expected to be headlined by a

UFC Bantamweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

rematch between the then current champion

T.J. Dillashaw Tyler Jeffrey Dillashaw (born February 7, 1986) is an American retired professional mixed martial artist who competed in the Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC), where he is a former two-time UFC Bantamweight Champion. Dillashaw competed on ...

and former champion

Renan Barão Renan Mota do Nascimento Pegado (born 31 January 1987), better known as Renan Barão, is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and the former UFC Bantamweight Champion. He held one of the longest unbeaten streaks in MMA history - follo ...

. However, on March 24, it was announced that Dillashaw had to pull out of the fight due to a broken rib and the fight was postponed. A

UFC Flyweight Championship Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

bout between current champion

Demetrious Johnson Demetrious Johnson (born August 13, 1986) is an American mixed martial artist. He currently competes in ONE Championship, where he is the current ONE Flyweight Champion (135 lb). He is the inaugural and former UFC Flyweight Champion. Known fo ...

and top contender

Kyoji Horiguchi is a Japanese mixed martial artist currently competing in Bellator MMA and Rizin FF in the Flyweight division. He is the former bantamweight champion in both organizations. As of December 13, 2022, he is #6 in the Bellator Bantamweight Rankings ...

, originally scheduled for the co-main event, served as the event's headliner. A welterweight bout between Rory MacDonald and

Héctor Lombard Héctor Miguel Lombard Pedrosa (born 2 February 1978) is a Cuban and Australian professional mixed martial artist, bodybuilder, and former Olympic judoka who competes in the Light Heavyweight division of Eagle FC. Lomb ...

was expected to take place at the event. However, on February 10, the UFC announced the removal of both participants from the card and indicated that the pairing had been scrapped. It was later revealed that the fight was canceled due to Lombard's failed drug test from

UFC 182 ''UFC 182: Jones vs. Cormier'' was a mixed martial arts event held on January 3, 2015, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event was headlined by a Light Heavyweight Championship bout between the champion at that ...

. Subsequently, it was announced that MacDonald would receive a title shot against current champion

Robbie Lawler Robert Lawler (born March 20, 1982) is an American professional mixed martial artist who has been competing since 2001. He is the former UFC Welterweight Champion, former EliteXC Middleweight Champion, and has formerly competed in Strikeforc ...

UFC 189 ''UFC 189: Mendes vs. McGregor'' was a mixed martial arts event held on July 11, 2015, at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Background The event took place during the UFC's annual International Fight Week. The event was expected t ...

. Cláudio Silva was expected to face

Nordine Taleb Nordine Taleb ( ar, نوردين طالب, born June 10, 1981) is a French-Canadian professional mixed martial artist. He is currently signed in the Welterweight division of the ARES FC. A professional since 2007, he has also competed for Bellat ...

at the event. However, Silva pulled out of the bout for undisclosed reasons and was replaced by Chris Clements. Abel Trujillo was expected to face

John Makdessi John Makdessi (born May 3, 1985) is a Canadian professional mixed martial artist currently competing in the Lightweight division of the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Background Makdessi was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada on May 3, 1985, ...

at the event. However, on April 1, it was announced that Trujillo had pulled out of the fight due to a broken arm and was replaced by promotional newcomer

Shane Campbell Shane Darryl Campbell is a Canadian Welterweight Muay Thai kickboxer, mixed martial artist, and a former W.K.A. Muay Thai World Champion. Campbell is also the current WMA World Pro Muay Thai Champion, Aggression MMA World Champion, and Unified ...

. The fight was contested at a catchweight of 160 lb. Former

UFC Light Heavyweight champion Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) champions are fighters who have won UFC championships. Historical notes At the time of the UFC's inception in 1993, mixed martial arts was not sanctioned in the United States, and did not include weight classe ...

Quinton Jackson Quinton "Rampage" Jackson (born June 20, 1978) is an American mixed martial artist, actor and former professional wrestler, who most recently fought in the Bellator MMA. He is a former UFC Light Heavyweight Champion and unified the Pride Middlew ...

was expected to make his promotional return against

Fábio Maldonado Fábio Rogério Maldonado (born 17 March 1980) is a Brazilian professional mixed martial artist and boxer currently competing in the light heavyweight division of Fight Nights Global. A professional MMA competitor since 2000, he has also ...

at the co-main event. However, on April 7,

Bellator MMA Bellator MMA (formerly Bellator Fighting Championships) is an American mixed martial arts promotion (entertainment), promotion founded in 2008 and based in Santa Monica, California, owned and operated as a subsidiary of television and media cong ...

, Jackson's most recent employer, was granted an injunction by a

New Jersey Superior Court The Superior Court is the state court in the U.S. state of New Jersey, with statewide trial and appellate jurisdiction. The New Jersey Constitution of 1947 establishes the power of the New Jersey courts.Jeffrey S. Mandel, New Jersey Appellate Pra ...

judge preventing him from competing after it was alleged that he breached his Bellator contract. Three days later the UFC announced that Jackson would be replaced by former

ice hockey Ice hockey (or simply hockey) is a team sport played on ice skates, usually on an ice skating rink with lines and markings specific to the sport. It belongs to a family of sports called hockey. In ice hockey, two opposing teams use ice hock ...

player

Steve Bossé Steve Bossé (born July 29, 1981) is a Canadian professional boxer currently competing in the heavyweight division. Bossé is a former mixed martial artist in the Light Heavyweight division of the UFC and was also known as an infamous hockey enf ...

and stated "at the moment, Jackson and his representatives plan to appeal the court’s order." On April 21, the court injunction blocking Jackson's return was lifted. The bout maintained its original co-main event status and was contested at a catchweight of 215 lb. Bossé did not compete at the event, but received his show money.

Results

Bonus awards

The following fighters were awarded $50,000 bonuses: *Fight of the Night: Chad Laprise vs. Bryan Barberena *Performance of the Night: Demetrious Johnson and Thomas Almeida

References

{{UFC Events Ultimate Fighting Championship events Events in Montreal Mixed martial arts in Canada Sports competitions in Montreal 2015 in mixed martial arts April 2015 sports events in Canada

Background

Results

Bonus awards

See also

References